Works for Me Wednesday--"Mom I'm Bored Edition"

This week for Works for Me Wednesday, it is a themed edition "Mom, I'm Bored!". Looking for ideas to cure that dreaded phrase, especially heard during the summer months by kids everywhere!

My first thoughts when I hear "Mom, I'm Bored!" from my kids is to think about what chores need to be done and give them a to-do list to keep them busy for a while. However, I found that once they are done with the to-do list of chores they still come back and say the same thing--"Mom, I'm bored!".

So I have worked at putting together a list of fun things that they can do as well that I keep on slips of paper and in a jar. The kids can choose one thing per day out of the "Boredom Cure Jar" to do. If they have say, "I'm bored!" more than once during the day(this usually happens!), they don't get another pick out of the jar but they get more chores to do.

Are you wondering what things are in the jar, here is a list of things that we do to help overcome the boredom.

• play board games together
• go for nature walks--we have several area parks with nature trails.
• bake goodies
• visit grandparents--my parents live twenty minutes from us and they live in on an acre of land, which is great for exploring!
• pretend we are at the movies---stick in a movie and do up some popcorn.
• play hide n' seek
• read books--we usually do TWO different summer reading programs, our local public library and either Barnes and Nobles Summer Reading or Schuler's Books Summer Reading.
• brush up on the Math facts by quizzing each other. It always seems that my kids do a "data dump" when it comes to Math facts so we play the game who can get the most facts right in 2 minutes. :)
• if we do any traveling, I like to make up a backpack full of goodies for them to do on the trip. I use some of the many ideas over at Mom's Minivan as well to fill the pack.
• do a craft project
• when stuck inside due to the weather, using our imagination to play games from tea parties to hide n' seek to I spy. An article of ideas to have fun indoors.

These are just a few of the things that we do to keep that "Mom, I'm Bored!" phrase at bay.

For many more ideas on what to do to keep boredom away, head over to Shannon's blog--Rocks in My Dryer to read what works for others.